


Cruelty of Sin (Mafia!RussiaxReader)

by SailorMoonNerd



Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-25
Updated: 2020-03-25
Packaged: 2021-03-01 01:14:56
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 13,106
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23316721
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SailorMoonNerd/pseuds/SailorMoonNerd
Relationships: Russia (Hetalia)/Reader
Comments: 2
Kudos: 37





	1. Chapter 1

You watched as your father paced the floor of your home. He was stressing. You both were stressing. You were meant to have three-thousand dollars by now, but you barely had half of that! It wasn’t for lack of trying on your part; your hours at the hotel had been cut, the manager of the restaurant you worked at only gave you two or three days a week and finding a third job had proven to be fruitless. Where it felt nice to have a little bit of time off, it was also stress-inducing.  
  
“Dad, sit down. We’ll figure something out.” you sighed. Your heart was breaking more and more every step he took. You weren’t exactly sure what was happening, or who he was paying, but ever since you were a very young child your father worked his ass off. Yet, he rarely had money to spend on the house. You can still remember the many arguments your mother and father would have late into the night about it. You can also remember the night your mother left, screaming how he was a horrible husband, and this would be the death of him.  
  
You never asked him about it. You were too afraid, you knew rumors on the streets, about owing people money and you didn’t want to think about your father that way. Once you turned sixteen you got a job to try and lighten the weights on his shoulders, but it didn’t work. Eventually, you graduated and was able to get a second job. It helped for a few years until the monthly amount started to go up each time. Eventually, you were trying to take extra shifts at both of your jobs, doing small jobs around the neighborhood, selling anything of yours that could be seen as valuable, and trying to sell art. It wasn’t helping.  
  
“(y/n) I have to have the money, in hand, in less than ten minutes” You frowned and looked at the envelope on the table.  
  
“Just try talking to them, and try to stay calm. Explain that three grand a month is just impossible.” Your father looked at you like you had gone insane. Your father never told you anything about this man, but from how your father always reacted even thinking about him, he had to be scary. “Well, you have to do something.” you huffed, crossing your arms. “Whatever it is, you’ll have dinner ready for you when you get home,” you tried to reassure him. It wouldn’t be a very good dinner, but it would be a dinner nonetheless.  
  
Three knocks could be heard through your small house. You looked at your father, who was sweating bullets. “Go clean up, quickly. I’ll get the door.” You said, getting up before he could protest and walking to the front door. You heard your father run up the stairs quickly before you opened the door.  
  
“Hello?” you peaked out, before slowly opening the door to reveal a taller man with shoulder-length brown hair, and dull green eyes. He was wearing a simple black suit and tie as he stared down at you in mild shock.  
  
“Sveiki*!” the hell kind of language is that?  
  
“You must be here for my father?” you moved out of the way, allowing him to pass through the threshold. “He’ll be right down. Can I offer you some tea?” you tried to smile at the nervous-looking man.  
  
“Yes, please. That would be nice,” he said, eyes never leaving your form. He couldn’t believe it. (Father’s name), his daughter really was of age, like the intel said. Intel was never really wrong, but it was still shocking. How could a man with a child rack up so much debt, so long ago! How could they be surviving when his monthly payments were so high? He frowned as he followed you back into the dining room. Ivan would be happy knowing the information was right.  
  
You made quick work of getting some tea ready. It was Cheap tea, but it was the hospitable thing to do. Was this really the person your father was so afraid of? It couldn’t be, he was so thin, so lanky. You could probably beat the snot out of him. With a gentle smile, you sat the cup of tea in front of him, along with sugar and a spoon and sat down silently. You sat there as he sipped his tea.  
  
Well, this was awkward.  
  
A few moments later your dad came down the stairs in a fresh shirt. “Sorry for keeping you waiting,” he said, straightening his tie as the stranger stood up.  
  
“It is no problem,” he turned to you and smiled gently, “Thank you for the tea.”  
  
“My pleasure,” you stood up, following them to the door. “Stay safe,” you said to your father. “And call me on your way home, so I can start dinner.” He nodded and kissed the top of your head before hurrying out.  
  
  
  
In the car, your father crawled into the car quickly and they sped off.  
  
“You know Ivan doesn’t like to be kept the waiting,” Toris said, looking at the man in the rearview mirror.  
  
“I know, but I spilled something on my original shirt,” Your father lied, as he stared out the window.  
  
Twenty minutes later they were rolling up to the mansion. Towering over the houses nearby it looked like something out of a horror novel. The impeccable home looked as if it hadn’t seen the privilege of being lived in in years. Not a speck out of place. The home’s exterior was a chilling sight to behold indeed. It gave off a very haunted aura, causing anyone who got too close to shiver.  
  
  
Quickly the two men got out of the car and hurried inside, to the office. Toris knocked quietly and was met with “Войти”**. He was angry.  
  
“You two are late,” growled the giant man.  
  
Your father bowed, holding the money envelope to his chest. “My apologies,” he shook. This was where he was going to die. Your father just knew it. Toris looked towards your father then back to the angry Russian.  
  
“We were met with a lot of traffic.” he lied. The Russian waved him off. He didn’t care.  
  
“Do you have my money?” He asked, leaning back in his chair.  
  
“W-well, you see. We were only able to save up fifteen hundred..” your dad’s shaking increased as he saw Ivan’s eyes twinkle dangerously.  
  
“You owe double that, глупый человек***.” He growled. “You have been giving us short the amount you owe us, I am not liking this.” Ivan stood up, towering over both of the men. “You owe us much.” He slowly walked around the desk, to stand in front of your father, “I am beginning to think you will never pay us the money.” Your father stared at him, silently praying. Praying for his safety, praying for your safety, praying to go home tonight.  
  
“No, no! We will, I promise! We just can’t pay three thousand a month!” Your father pled.  
  
“We? Oh, that’s right. You have a дочь****, no?” your father paled. “How old is she now? If I am not remembering wrong, she is getting up in her age, no?”  
  
“She looked around twenty-two, Mr. Braginski.” Both pairs of eyes turned to the Lithuanian man, one of pure shock and fear, the other cunning and calculation.  
  
“I am wondering what she is looking like at this age?” Ivan looked towards your father, bending over a little to get a closer look at him. Your father shook his head, he didn’t have any updated photos of you, just a few of when you were younger. Ivan smirked. A plan he had already been thinking of blooming in that terrifying mind of his. “I will be kind this month, Mr. (L/N),” Ivan straightened up, smirking. “I would much like to be meeting your little daughter,” Ivan chuckled as your father shook worse. “Be sure she is in something nice, yes? Toris?” Ivan turned towards the brown-haired man. “You will bring them here for dinner tonight, understood?” He received a vigorous nod in return. Your father couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Was Ivan threatening to take you, the only last good thing he has in his life? “And for your trouble, I will even allow you to keep your money.” Ivan turned around, heading back to his desk, he sat down, looking straight at Toris he gave very detailed instructions “Take him home, and stay with them until it is dinner time. Make sure the little sunflower has something nice to wear. Dinner will be served in two hours.” He looked at your father. “You are dismissed now.”  
  
With that, your father retreated out of the room, practically running out of the mansion. This wasn’t good. This really wasn’t good. Toris followed behind him, watching his panicked expression. Toris knew what was about to happen. He had seen it before.  
  
  
  
Once back home your father sulked into the house, Toris right on his heels. You lifted your head from the library book you were reading. “Dad!” Thank whatever God is out there he was alive! You put a bookmark where you were and quickly got up and ran over to him, hugging him tightly. “I was so worried about you! Why didn’t you tell me you were on your way home? I would have had dinner made!” you pouted. Your father shook his head as you spotted the taller man from before.  
  
“(Y/n)...” he looked back at Toris, then towards you. “I have a surprise! I was able to talk to Mr. Braginski!” Was that the man’s name? “He’s letting us keep the money we raised this month! And we get to go have dinner with him.” Your eyebrows furrowed.  
  
“Father, what did you do?” That was wonderful news, but it was too good.  
  
“Nothing, my little robbin,” your father sighed, “For now, you should go get dressed.”  
  
“I will be helping you, ma’am.” You looked at the stranger once more. “Mr. Braginski has certain rules for his dinner guests.” Toris just wanted to make sure whatever you chose would be “pleasing enough on the eyes” for Ivan. you sighed and stepped away from your father.  
  
“Dad, you know I don’t have any fancy clothes.” Toris’s face fell. Okay… Okay no need to panic, this could be fixed. He checked his watch.  
  
“We have one and a half hours before dinner. We should be getting you something. And fast.” you stared at the man as he hurried out the door. Looking at your father you wanted to ask him what was going on, but the look in his eyes shut you up quickly as he followed.  
  
During the short ride, Toris called up a nearby boutique and spoke quickly in his mother tongue. Even if he wasn’t talking so fast you probably wouldn’t have been able to guess what he was saying. It sounded like gibberish to you. You looked at your father, asking what was going on but he looked like he was on the verge of a mental break down.  
  
Just what had transpired while he was gone?  
  
Once at the boutique three women pulled you into a changing area, leaving your father baffled and Toris to stand there, bouncing his leg in impatience.  
  
“Oh! Pink would look wonderful on her!” the shorter of the women said.  
  
“No no, let’s go with a blue, it’ll bring out her (e/c) eyes!” you looked between the two women as the third and tallest ignored them both, opting to look through the dresses as they argued. You slowly raised your hand to interject.  
  
“I think I’d prefer choosing the colour.” you said tentatively. The two looked at you and just shook their heads.  
  
“No no, we know what you’ll look good in.” You rolled your eyes and just stood there, listening to the women prattle on and on.  
  
How long should the dress be? _Floor-length!_ **Above the knee!**  
What kind of sleeves? _Strapless!_ **Quarter sleeves!**  
What kind of fit? _Hugging her curves!_ **Plain with a simple belt!**  
  
On and on, back and forth. Who were these women? The three fairies from _Sleeping Beauty_? You were beginning to get a headache. That is…  
  
“You two, shut up!” the third woman turned around, holding a pale yellow dress. “She will try this one on,” she stated matter of factly, as she walked over, handing it to you. “Go on, dear. We’ll be right here.” You nodded and walked into one of the changing stalls.  
  
This was crazy. This was too much. What the hell was going on, and why the hell were you in a dressing room trying on a dress you didn’t even want? These questions and more ran through your mind as you stripped from your clothing and slid the dress on. It was nice that you didn’t need to wear a bra with it, since it had a built-in bra, but it felt weird stripping almost all of your clothing.  
  
Once you had the dress on you stepped out, looking at the women. All three stared at you in awe. It was beautiful. It was perfect. It was you.  
  
The dress itself was graceful and dazzling. Floor-length and a solid yellow base, with a strip of see-through yellow fabric as the single shoulder sleeve. The fabric connected the front and back but also left some to fall behind you, grazing the skin of your arm. On the front, the clear fabric was incorporated, going to your waist and being pinned there by what looked like a belt of beautiful rhinestones. It hugged your curves perfectly while leaving plenty to the imagination.  
  
You stared at your reflection. There was no way you could wear this. It was just… not you. It was to fancy, to frilly. You sighed and rubbed your cheeks, looking at the women who were staring at you.  
  
“I don’t think--”  
  
“It’s perfect!!!” they all yelled at the same time, causing you to cringe. The taller one beamed with pride and looked at her coworkers. “Get her hair and makeup done! And quickly. They don’t have much time!”  
  
  
 _Meanwhile, back at the mansion._  
  
Ivan sat at his desk, pouring over your father’s profile. He had been in debt with Ivan’s family since before either of you were born. Gambling is a powerful addiction.  
  
Ivan could remember the times his Grandfather, known as General Winter to everyone, including Ivan, had sent men to watch your family, including Ivan himself. Ivan could remember when he first saw you, he was around ten years old and enjoyed watching you play ball with your friends while you were still in kindergarten. Ever since then he had enjoyed keeping an eye on you, er, your father. He watched as you grew older, he watched as your family broke apart, he watched as you grew to a pre-teen. After he turned seventeen he had to take over part of his Grandfather’s business, so the last time he had seen you in person was when you were around twelve. He wondered how you had changed since then.  
  
Now, he had a chance to actually meet you face to face. Hell, he could actually have you in the palm of his hands. No, he **will** have you. Those years of silently watching over you had caused a strong connection with you, albeit a little one-sided. He couldn’t help the smile creeping to his face, it was exciting to him. He continued to pour over your father’s information. He owed a lot of money. More money than he could probably ever procure within his shortening life span. Of course, Ivan already knew this.  
  
Before he knew it, a much smaller man was knocking on his door. Ivan glared towards the door before allowing him to enter.  
  
“S-sir? Dinner is almost ready...” Ravis stuttered out. Ivan stared at him for a moment. Was Ravis always this small? He had to be an adult by now, why hadn’t he grown?(1) Ivan sighed before putting some of the paperwork into a folder and getting up. This was it.  
  
As he walked down the long hallway he couldn’t help the slight bounce in his step as he thought about tonight.  
  
  
  
You gulped as you stared at the mansion in front of you. If you weren’t scared about the dinner ahead of you before, you were most definitely terrified of it now. Shivering you looked at Toris, who was already so far ahead of you, you had to hurry to catch up.  
  
“Now, (y/n),” your father began, “Listen, Ivan is...” you looked at your father and smiled gently, trying your best to be brave.  
  
“Don’t worry, Dad, I won’t do anything stupid. I’ll stay as quiet as possible.” you tried to reassure him. His anxiety wasn’t quelled, you couldn’t blame him. There were butterflies in your stomach and your hands were shaking horribly, but you had to try your best to stay calm. You always had to stay calm, even growing up. Your father stressed too much to allow yourself to stress also. You had to be strong, no matter what. At least, that’s what you always told yourself. If you started to stress, your father would stress more, which could lead to an early death.  
  
It didn’t take you three very long to get to the dining room. Toris made you and your father wait outside the door as he went in to talk to the mysterious “Ivan”. Taking a deep breath you tried to calm your nerves, pushing your negative thoughts to the back of your mind. A few thoughts, though, You couldn’t push from your mind. Why were you here? Who was this Ivan? And what the hell was going on?  
  
It wasn’t hard to piece together the fact your father owned dangerous people money, you knew that when you were very young. But exactly how dangerous were these people? 


	2. Chapter 2

Once Toris opened the door to the dining room, you could tell how deep the hole your father had dug himself. It was massive. Almost as massive as the man sitting at the head of the table. Those butterflies you were feeling earlier? Yeah, they were back in full force, worse actually, you felt like you were about to vomit up those butterflies. How were you going to eat like this?  
  
The man sitting at the end of the table was, for lack of a better word, a giant. His sandy blond hair framed his face perfectly. His facial features were interesting to say the least. He had a deceivingly gentle smile adorning his thin lips. His eyes were like swimming in a sea of violet flowers, you could practically smell them. What took your attention the most, though, was his enormous nose. He towered over you and your father at around six feet tall and his frame was hidden by an oversized jacket.  
  
“Mr. (Last Name)” The oversized man greeted as he stood up, holding out his arms. “Welcome to my home.” You looked at your father who’s shaking legs were carrying him closer to the man. You followed close behind, wanting to catch him if his legs gave out.  
  
“Mr. Braginski,” your father stuttered out, shaking his hand. “This is my daughter...” Both men turned to you. You froze temporarily. What do you do in this situation? Do you bow? Do you curtsey? Do you shake his hand? What the fuck were you supposed to do!?  
  
“Ah, da!” You shook slightly the longer you stared at the man. He held out his hand. Thank God. You shook his hand, trying to hide your trembling.   
  
“(F/N) (L/N).” you meekly said before you were suddenly jerked closer to the man. Your whole body stiffened as he roughly grabbed your chin, turning your face from side to side, examining you.  
  
The years had been kind to you, Ivan couldn’t believe how beautiful you had become. Whoever did your makeup did it perfectly, allowing it to accent your natural beauty. You really were a beauty.  
  
When you had walked in he couldn’t believe you were the same girl he had watched so many years ago. The dress you wore accented your features flawlessly, and the yellow of the dress made you look like a beautiful little sunflower. Now, with your much smaller frame trembling against his own, he couldn’t help but smirk to himself. “It is a pleasure to be meeting you, little sunflower” he let you go, leaving you with a bewildered expression, and allowed you to step away. “Sit. sit.” he motioned to the table, where three place settings were set out with glasses of what you thought was water, two across from each other with the third being his.  
  
You looked at your father and sat in one of the free seats as he sat in the other.  
  
………….Silence.  
  
You bit the inside of your cheek gently as you three waited in silence for whatever you were waiting for. You sat there, staring down at your lap, occasionally looking up from behind your hair at your father who was casting nervous glances around. You couldn’t blame him. You didn’t even know this man, but he was already terrifying you so bad you wanted to dig a hole and crawl into it. You reached forward and grabbed your glass, taking a sip. This wasn’t water. You tried not to cough. That was vodka.  
  
“Little Sunflower,” you jumped, hearing the Russian man address you. Your head snapped to attention and you stared at him with big wide eyes, squeaking out a “yes?” He chuckled. “Tell me what you know of your father’s situation,” You tilted your head as you heard the door to the kitchen open, with three others coming in with the food.  
  
“My father’s situation?” you glanced at your dad. “Not- ah- Not very much. Just that he owes a lot of money even back when I was a child.” the food was sat in front of you as you spoke. Mr. Braginski hummed, eyes twinkling.  
  
“Do you know why?” you raised an eyebrow and looked to your father.  
  
“I never found that necessary,” you said with complete confidence. “He’s my father and he needed my help.” He picked up his fork and motioned for you both to start eating. You looked at your father who nodded, before taking your knife and fork, cutting the weird-looking dumpling in half, so you wouldn’t have any problems eating it.  
  
It was silent again. You were starting to get a little twitchy as your questions came back to your mind. You wanted to ask him everything, but it’s rude to talk with food in your mouth. Plus, at this point, you figured he was just fucking with the two of you to watch you squirm.  
  
You all ate in silence. The only noise being made was the forks and your knife. Ivan found it adorable that you were cutting your dumplings in half. Such a small person.  
  
After dinner the same three servants came to collect the plates, you actually paid attention this time and realized; Oh shit, that’s Toris! With dinner done Ivan reached into his jacket and pulled out a file folder and dropped it onto the table between the three of you. You watched as it opened and landed on the first of two pages. It had a photo of your father, along with a stereotypical profile. You scanned it, your eyes wandering down to the bottom.  
  
You felt the colour in your face drain. How did your dad rack up that much debt? How did he expect to ever pay that off!? You could see your father shrink back as if trying to conceal himself. Gods, why was he so spineless?  
  
“I am not believing you will ever be able to pay me back, (L/n),” Ivan said, his voice dangerously low. “This is a problem.” Did it just get colder? It got much colder. You frowned and looked at the amount again, then up at the man.  
  
“Please. You just need to give us more time. We’re doing our best!” you pled. Ivan’s violet gaze moved over to you. He leaned forward, folding his hands in front of his face.  
  
“And how do you plan on that, матрешка?” you frowned, looking down. “This amount has been growing and growing with interest.” you forgot interest was a thing. “Even in your lifetime, little one, you will not be raising enough.” He wasn’t wrong. Even if you managed to go to college and get a good job, you wouldn’t be able to pay this off. A feeling of dread washed over you. Did he bring you here just to tell you this? Did he bring you here so he could tie up loose ends? Kill you and your father? You shook. “But there is one way to pay,” he continued as you stared at the folder. You saw his hand as he reached forward and removed the first sheet of paper, revealing the second. There, on that sheet, was a small collage of photos of you. You felt a stone drop in your stomach. “Little Sunflower--”  
  
“No!” you jumped when your father’s hands hit the table. You stared at him in shock, did he just--? “I’m not letting you take my daughter.” You looked at your father, then at Ivan. He ignored him, instead opting for staring you down. His violet eyes glowed dangerously under the light of the chandelier.  
  
“If I refuse?” you asked, trying to scrounge up a little confidence. It wasn’t meant to be a challenge, but it sure as hell sounded like one.  
  
“Then you and your father have one year to gather my money.” he shot back, causing your blood to turn to ice. You stared at him. He stared at you. He was serious, and that was terrifying.  
  
“(y/n) don’t worry about it. We can--”  
  
“Fine.” you sighed, looking away from the man who just smiled. You heard your father talking, but what he was saying was not discernible. “I will stay here, only if you leave my father alone.” You had to take this opportunity! Besides, all you’ve said is that you’d stay here. You didn’t specify an amount of time.  
  
“All his debt will be erased,” Ivan nodded as he stood up, yelling something you didn’t understand. With his yelling, the three servants from before came running in, as if there was a fire or something. Ivan looked at the smallest one. “Show her to her room, Ravis.” you looked at him.  
  
“Wait, what? Right now?” Ivan looked at you, eyebrow raised. “You’re not going to let me go home and get any of my stuff?” he laughed. He actually laughed at you.  
  
“Do you really have things you want?” You looked down. The answer to that was no, obviously. You were more or less just hoping to have a few hours left with your father. “I didn’t think so.”  
  
“I… I have a few books I’d like.” Most of which were given to you, so they held important sentimental value. You couldn’t just leave them.  
  
“Toris will gather them as he takes your father home.” You wrapped your arms around your mid-drift.  
  
“(your full name). Don’t you dare do this. This is MY fuck up.” you looked at your father.  
  
“You should have been thinking about that before you dragged your family into this.” Ivan chuckled. You looked at the small man, Ravis, as he walked over to you.  
  
“Th-This way,” he stuttered out as he passed by you. You looked at your father and got up and walked around the table.  
  
“It’ll be fine, dad,” you whispered to him as he pulled you into a hug. You could hear his breath shake and his voice cracked.  
  
“Please, you don’t have to do this,” he whispered to you. “Please, I can’t lose you like I lost your mother.” You shook your head.  
  
“Dad, doing this will get rid of your debt. You can move, get out of here. We won’t be scraping by.” you pulled back and smiled at him, trying to reassure him. “Everything will work out in the end. Don’t worry.”  
  
If only you believed your own words.  
  
Less than an hour later you were sitting in a room, the room Ravis had brought you to. Where the room was in the giant home, you had no idea, but it was a nice room. The bed was softer than you were used to, and it even had a canopy. The light purple colour scheme was also something you weren’t accustomed to, not that you were complaining about that.  
  
The nice room wasn’t the reason you were sitting on a window seat, staring out into the darkness as tears rolled down your cheeks. The room was just that, it was nice, kept well, made to make you feel important. And that was the scary part. It was obvious this was planned, hell, you should have known something was up when Toris had dragged you to that boutique! You should have known when your father said you were invited to dinner! You should have sat on the couch and refused. You should have… You should have… You should have done a lot of things, but you didn’t. You had wanted to believe this man, this monster, had decided to be a decent human being. You had wanted to believe that humans could be good creatures, ones who would help each other when they struggled.  
  
You had been a fool, you scolded yourself as you leaned against the glass. How long had he been planning this, and what exactly was the plan? Were you going to work for him as the other three did? What if he decided he wanted you to work for him in other ways? The thought caused you to gag. With a long sigh, you leaned your head against the glass. What were you going to do? It’s not like you had much of a plan when you agreed, save for the fact you weren’t planning on staying very long.  
  
The questions now: how long were you planning on staying here? How would you get out? What were you going to do in the meantime? Was your father okay? Your silent interrogation was interrupted by a quiet knock on your heavy door.  
  
“Ms. (L/N)?” Toris’ voice came from the other side. You silently looked over to the door then looked back out the window. Fuck. Him. He probably knew what was going to happen, yet he didn’t say anything. After a few moments of silence, Toris sighed and opened the door. “Ms. (L/N) please...” he frowned as he looked upon your defeated features. You were so spunky earlier when you challenged Ivan, but now? What had happened while he was gone? “I-I brought your books.” he held up the pathetic little pile. “Your father… Your father also gave me something to give to you… He said it was from your mother?” You didn’t move. He sighed and set the books on one of the bedside tables. “I’m going to leave everything over here, ok?” He set down a small box, too. “When you’re settled in, Mr. Braginski would like to see you.”  
  
Already? What did he want? It didn’t matter. You already resigned yourself to this room, you weren’t leaving it. Not for a while.  
  
Toris stood there, awkwardly. He knew you weren’t happy, it wasn’t hard to see that, but he was supposed to take you to Ivan.  
  
After a few minutes of literally nothing happening Toris sighed. “Alright… well… I’m going to go do some of my chores… when you are ready, just call for me, yes?” you made no movement to show you understood. Toris sighed again before leaving.  
  
After listening for his footsteps you got up and walked to the door, locking it. After doing that, knowing it’s probably useless, you walked over to the items he brought you. Ignoring the books you picked up one of the small boxes and opened it.  
  
Fresh tears pricked your eyes before cascading down your cheeks as you stared at the small blue necklace. Your father told you he sold this years ago. You couldn’t believe he had it the whole time. Staring at the small gem memories of your mother flashed in your mind. Memories from simpler times. Times of happiness, and love, times free of stress…  
  
You fell asleep that night to the memories of your mother, it was the first time in years.  
  
  
  
The next morning you woke to someone shaking your shoulder. Your eyes shot open, body on high alert.  
  
“Ms. (L/N)” Toris’ worried face blocked your view. “Breakfast is ready,” he tried to smile reassuringly. You just glared at him. “I-I know you’re not happy, but... You need to eat,” You rolled over, making a point to not make a sound. “Please! Mr. Braginski is not very happy with me for last night.” not happy with him? It should be you he was mad at, you didn’t want to leave your room. “If you do not come down to breakfast with me, I’m afraid of what he will do…” You sighed and sat up.  
  
“And what the hell am I supposed to wear? All I have is this dress from last night!” Toris looked away sheepishly.  
  
“There should be clothes in the closet… We weren’t sure of your size, but...” your eyes twitched as you got up and walked over to the closet. “I’ll be just outside, waiting for you...” You watched as he quickly retreated out of the room.  
  
A few minutes later you were dressed in a (F/C) dressed and walking down the hallway, in comfortable silence. Well, comfortable for you, nerve-racking for him. You had been so kind to him yesterday, and now? Now you were very angry with him, and he didn’t know how to fix it.  
  
“I need to go to the kitchen to get the breakfast,” he turned to smile at you, “Just wait at the table, yes?” You stared at him in silence before turning to the door and pushing it open.  
  
The man at the table looked up from whatever he was doing as you entered the room. “(Y/n) it is good to be seeing you!” he stood as you got closer. “I was so worried when you didn’t come to see me last night.” You looked at him as you pulled out a chair further away from him. His smile fell slightly as he walked over to you.  
  
“I fell asleep.” you answered curtly.  
  
“That is okay, sunflower,” he moved behind your chair. “But you really should be sitting closer to me, da?”  
  
“I’m comfortable where I am,” you answered, leaning back as you crossed your arms.  
  
“No, Sunflower, I insist!”  
  
“I’m not moving.” it probably wasn’t a good idea to anger him, but you weren’t in the best mood.  
  
“That is more than fine! I will help!” in just a few seconds you felt yourself and the chair being lifted off the ground. You panicked and grabbed to the bottom of the chair, trying not to move too much. In moments he sat your chair down, removed the one closest to his chair, and push yours into its place. “That is better, da?” No! That was not better. You bit your tongue, despite wanting to yell. This man was a monster. Was he just ignorant, or could he really not tell you didn’t want to be near him? “How did you sleep, sunflower?” he asked as he sat in his chair.  
  
You looked at him silently. It wasn’t the worst night of sleep, you had to admit to yourself, but you didn’t have to say anything to him. The bed itself was soft, and so was the pillow, but you had fallen asleep crying so your head hurt, and your eyes were puffy. You probably looked like a mess.  
  
“Sunflower,” his voice was dangerously low as he stared at you, “Your time here can be very enjoyable, or… not so enjoyable. It is up to you, little one.” You looked up at him before sighing and looking away.  
  
“I slept okay.” You answered his question in the most minimalistic way you could think of.  
  
“Just okay? What was wrong?” he began to interrogate you. “Are the pillows too hard? Or the bed? Too light? Too dark?” So many questions. “Maybe you need something to sleep with?” Ok, so THAT didn’t sound sexual at all.  
  
“It was fine. The bed was fine, the pillows were fine, lighting was fine, everything was fine.” Where was Toris? Could he just bring breakfast?  
  
“Then what was wrong?” You groan.  
  
“Nothing was wrong.”   
  
“Then why didn’t you sleep well?”  
  
“I slept fine!”  
  
“That isn’t what you said.” could he just shut the hell up!?  
  
“I fell asleep crying, okay? Happy!?” you snapped at him. Ivan frowned.  
  
“Oh… I should have figured,” he sighed. “(Y/n) I--”  
  
“Could you just… stop?” you looked at him. Ivan stared at you. No one had talked to him like that, not in a long time.  
  
“I know you miss your father, Sunflower, but I promise; You’ll be happy here!” Happy? Here? Happy!? Did he seriously think you could be happy here?!  
  
“Happy?” You turned to him, ready to lay into him, but Toris came swooping in to save the day.  
  
You stared down at the bowl in front of you, a type of porridge in it. ‘Thanks, Lumiere,’ you thought grumpily before you started eating. It wasn’t like any porridge you had before, but it wasn’t the worst. You ate in silence, your emotions mixing in your stomach. You were angry, depressed, and scared. You ate silently as Ivan watched you.  
  
What the hell did he expect to happen? Why did he want you? And what were you going to do?


	3. Chapter 3

“Ms. (L/n)?” an oh-too-familiar-voice said from the other side of your door, right before knocking. You looked up from your book temporarily before turning the page and going back to the story. You heard Toris sigh before he opened the door. “Ms. (L/n)? Mr. Braginski wants to see you.” Again? Already? You glanced at him, debating with yourself. The stubborn girl in you insisted you stay rooted in your room. That stubborn girl argued with the little girl inside you. The scared little girl, the one who didn’t know nor wanted to know what was going on. She wanted to obey, just like she always has. Obey, please, keep your head down, and go with the flow.  
  
“Your time here can be very enjoyable or… not so enjoyable.” Your heart fell remembering the scene in the dining room. You weren’t sure if you actually wanted to test that statement. With a heavy sigh, you closed your book and stood up, setting it down. Toris visibly relaxed, knowing it wouldn’t be a replay of the night before.  
  
“I’ll be showing you to his office.” You could practically hear the smile in his voice as he led you out of your room. “Really, the way is very easy to remember, you will see. Mr. Braginski has your room right in the middle of his office and his bedroom.” He gave you his best reassuring smile. “Just in case you are of needing something.” The thought of needing him any time he’d usually be in his room didn’t sit well with you at all. And the fact that he put so much thought into it? Scared you.  
  
You stopped when he did, in front of a large ebony, embedded in the wood were chains of diamond shapes all lined in what looked like gold. It was honestly beautiful. You wanted to reach out and trace the lines.  
  
“This is where I will be leaving you.” Your head snapped to attention as Toris basically said he was abandoning you. You watched him as he quickly retreated away from the door as if it were the plague. Was Ivan really that bad? Should you be as scared as Toris? You couldn’t stop your hand from shaking as you raised your fist and knocked. You felt like you were knocking on Death’s door. Perhaps you were. If you angered him, Ivan could easily have you killed, or could kill you himself, he was big enough!  
  
“voyti” Well, there goes your time to panic. You took a deep breath, trying to calm your beating heart. It was as if you were a mouse and you were walking right into the maws of a vicious and starving feline. “I said, enter.” You jumped before fumbling with the doorknob, slowly opening the gates of hell.  
  
“(F/n), come in, come in,” The titan in the room said. He sat behind a large dark oak desk sifting through paperwork, “Sit,” he motioned to the chair on the other side of the desk. You watched him as you cautiously made your way over and sat down. “I have been thinking, and I believe we got off to a rough start, yes?” That was an understatement.  
  
“You’ve been constricting and terrorizing my family ever since I can remember. I’d say that’s more than a “rough start”.” you leaned back as you continued to watch him, his eyes narrowing as he sat his paperwork down. You immediately regretted your words.  
  
“Sunflower, your father borrowed a lot of money from my grandfather.” You already knew that, and you would never make excuses for him, but that wasn’t an excuse from the excessive shakedowns and quickly rising monthly payments. “Really, you should be thanking me.” you were doubtful. Your face betrayed that doubt. “My grandfather wanted to take you as payment when you were thirteen.” His eyes glowed dangerously. “Thirteen-year-olds sell for a lot on the black market.” You paled. He was kidding, right? He had to be. “If I am to be remembering properly, Your father was all for it at the time, set up a time and date and everything. Anything to get out of debt, right? Grandfather even had a buyer ready, along with your dress and makeup picked out.” Something flickered in the back of your mind. This was giving you a headache along with causing your stomach to churn. “But by that time I had grown attached to you, protective you could say. So with a bit of convincing, he left you alone.” your mind reeled. “So, if you are thinking about it, I’m the only reason you weren’t sold to some stranger, possibly the only reason you’re still alive.” You felt numb, the thought of how close you were to… Bile rose up your throat at the idea.  
  
“All because I swore that someday you would be my bride.” You snapped out of your shock.  
  
“You did what now?” You had to have heard him wrong. “Could you repeat that last bit? I must have misheard. I could have sworn you said something about me and a bride?” a marriage? Really? You didn’t even think you would survive this long, let alone find someone who’d be willing to marry you. You never thought about marriage. Not to mention the thought of being with this man in any way that didn’t involve being ten feet apart almost made you throw up on the spot.  
  
“I did.” He stared at you, smiling as if expecting something. You stared back, anger boiling in your stomach.  
  
“I never agreed to that.” You glared at him.  
  
“You agreed to stay.” He shot back.  
  
“I never once said for how long.” Ivan’s eyebrows rose in shock. That was sneaky of you. Similar to a tactic his grandfather would use. He approved of you using it, but not against him. “I simply agreed to stay here, never did either of us agree on a set amount of time, nor did I agree to any interaction.” That was a long shot, but you weren’t wrong.  
  
You stared at each other, the Russian was pleasantly surprised you hadn’t lost your backbone, yet.  
  
“Sunflower, you remember what I said this morning, yes?” He leaned forward on the desk, resting on his elbows, a dark storm brewing in his eyes. “If you want your stay to be unpleasant, then it will be. I know how to make little girls corporate.”  
 ** _“I know how to make stubborn little girls like you corporate.”_** the headache in the back of your mind grew stronger, causing a pause. This man could easily do anything he wanted to you. He could easily have something bad done to you without raising a finger. He had so much more power than you could possibly imagine, ‘yet you’re sitting here challenging him’ You thought to yourself.  
  
You shrank back, fear and anxiety rattling you to your bones, causing your throat to close up and your heart to palpitate. ‘Shut up. Shut up. Shut the hell up. Just go along with it, everything will be fine.’ You told yourself.  
  
 ** _‘Just go along with it, it’ll be over soon.’_**  
  
“Mr. Braginski--” Taking a deep breath you decided to change tactics.  
  
“Ivan, sunflower,” his eyes twinkled.  
  
“Ivan… W-with all due respect, I don’t know you.” He tilted his head. obviously being stubborn wasn’t the right way to go about it. Maybe appealing to his heart would work? You doubted it, but why not give it a shot? “And what I do know about you is… well… You’re a horrible human being. Because of you, all I’ve known is poverty. Hell, for the past year you’ve raised the amount my father owed you to impossible numbers, forcing me to work more and more almost to the point of dropping from exhaustion. Not only that but you gave me almost no choice but to agree to stay here with you. Now you expect me to… what? Agree to be your little housewife?” he stared at you blankly. You let out a sigh, biting your lip. “Ivan, because of you I suffered. Is that really how you treat the woman you said you would marry? Shouldn’t you have done everything in your power to protect me? Everything you can to make me happy? Instead, you did everything in your power to cause me distress and discomfort. Do you see why I’m so hesitant?” He hummed thoughtfully. A little spark of hope flared in your stomach. Maybe you got through to him?  
  
“Nyet.” Your shoulders fell. “I saved you. Twice now! I’m your hero, yes?” He looked so damn happy at the prospect of being your hero. The prospect of saving you. But no, he’s a villain who created at least one of the scenarios he “saved” you from. “Now, thanks to me, you have a soft bed, nice food, a warm home, and anything you could ask for!” except your freedom. You frowned.  
  
You have lived, struggled, under this man’s thumb, all so he could swoop in and ‘save’ you. Now he expects you to be okay with him? You shivered as you watched him get up, a dark foreboding aura thick around him, you could practically see electricity crackling around him. As he rounded his desk you tried to swallow, only to find it very difficult as the atmosphere threatened to choke you. Your heart palpitations quickened as he made his way over to you, towering over your smaller form. You almost looked like a child compared to him.  
  
“So, I believe, instead of the complaining, you should be thanking me, da?” You stared up at him, eyes wide. Images flashed through your mind. Images of your mangled body contoured and dead in a ditch. Images of your body, blue from suffocation in a shallow grave somewhere. So many images flashed through your mind, all of which were of you, dead.  
  
 _All except one. It was dim, but someone else was there, towering over your much smaller frame. You felt cold and scared as the man stared down at you, smirking. **“Really, instead of crying, you should be thanking me.” A voice whispered at the back of your head. “I’m helping your pathetic family out, you should show some gratitude.”**_ a new wave of pain shot through your brain like an electrical shock. You closed your eyes trying to fight the tears that pricked your eyes. You were tired of crying, not to mention you didn't want to cry in front of this man.  
  
Your heart and lungs ached. It felt as if you had just ran a marathon as it took all of your might to let out a very breathy and shaky “Th-Thank you… Thank you, Ivan.” before looking down. You just wanted to go back to your room and hide under that plush bed. You wanted to disappear into the soft chair you were sitting in, or run into the forest and find your safe space. You wanted to be anywhere but here with this man. Tears threatened to spill from your eyes  
  
Ivan smiled happily as the dark aura vanished, allowing you to breathe. Or it would have allowed you to breathe if your chest didn’t feel so closed off.  
  
“Now that that is out of the way: I have made appointments for you,” he stepped away turning to his desk and picking up a piece of paper. Blissfully ignorant of the battle going on in your consciousness. If he’d only shut the hell up, you would be able to calm down. “I spoke to my sestra, Katysha, and she told me what I would need to make you healthy. She gave me a small list! Who knew keeping a wife would take so much!” If you weren’t still struggling for breath you would feel insulted. Instead, you settled for closing your eyes and listening. You listened to his voice, the thick Russian accent seeping through his childlike voice. You listened to the noises outside, void of the roar of cars from any major roadways allowed for nature to play its music. You listened to the noise of the birds outside talking to each other, each melodic tune just a little different than the other. You could feel your chest loosen as you listened to them. Birds were cute animals, and you were curious as to what they were saying to each other. Ivan continued to talk as you spaced out.  
  
“First, tomorrow, you have an appointment with the family doctor, he will be here at 10 for a full body checkup. Then at 3, you have a dentist's appointment. For those cute little teeth.” You hated the dentist, “The day after tomorrow you will be seeing the dietitian, you need more meat on those bones of yours. Finally,” he squinted at the paper, “Katysha said something about a “gay-no-kolo-gist”” you almost chocked again, coughing to hide the laughter that threatened to bubble up your throat. “But she didn’t tell me what for. But you have an appointment for one that day, too!” Your face flared up. You hadn’t been to an OBGYN in years, so long, in fact, you had to strain yourself to remember. It was when you were either 12 or 13, but you couldn’t remember what it was for or the outcome. All you could remember was what the doctor did.  
  
“In the meantime, we should begin planning, yes?” The red drained from your face and was promptly replaced with the white of horror.  
  
“Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. Wait. Can’t we just… wait? We just met, I know literally nothing about you. Why don’t we get to know each other before we jump into this?” This was way too much for you to process within the span of just a few minutes.  
  
“We will have plenty of time for that during the honeymoon, sunflower.” your mind automatically went south, causing your whole body to heat up in embarrassment.  
  
“I don’t mean it like that, Ivan. I mean… I don’t even know your favorite colour. Or favorite food. Or even how old you are!” you held up a hand as he was about to answer all three questions. “We don’t have a bond, a connection. We’re two strangers. Can’t we put off the planning until we know each other better?” He stared at you, obviously processing your request. You stared back pleadingly. With how the conversation was going you fully expected him to say ‘no’ and start a round of quick-fire questions: what colours would you like, what kind of dress, what food to serve, etc. Just the thought tired you out.  
  
“khorosho,” you groaned in obvious displeasure and irritation. Not just because you thought he was rejecting your suggestion, but also because he was speaking in a language you knew nothing about.  
  
“Ivan, please, just this one thing,” you plead.  
  
“Sunflower, I said alright.” You blinked, demeanor changing immediately.  
  
“Really?” You couldn’t help the smile sliding onto your face. It went past being a cute, small smile of relief and broke out into a goofy grin. One of pure excitement and triumph. It was a small win, but as you had already learned: Ivan wasn’t one to change his mind. So this felt like you had actually won something.  
  
“I even have the best idea to “bond”” he used his fingers to make air quotes. You didn’t like the sound of this.”You will be needing to learn Russian anyway, so I will give you the lessons!” Ok, not what you had thought he meant, not that you were complaining.  
  
“Lessons? In Russian?” you questioned. That’s not too bad, right? What’s the worst that could happen? You took a deep breath. “Alright. Or as you said- Koroosho.” Now it was your turn to butcher a word. “Learning another language could be fun, but...” You couldn’t believe you were saying this, “But I also want to go on dates.” A light pink dusted your cheeks. “I never had time for them, so if you’re really going to make me do this, I want to do it right.” You honestly hoped if he were given the chance to get to know you He’d give up this horrible idea. It was a longer shot than the Olympic shot put, but you were taking it.  
  
“Dates?” you watched as he thought, his eyebrows knitting together. “We can do dates. They will be fun!” You blinked in shock. Did you just get him to agree to two things in a row? You totally did! You almost felt like the luckiest girl alive. “We can even start tonight,” Tonight? No way, you were already so tired from all the information that was forced on you. “I know a place that makes the best Pirozhki.” You bit your lip. You wanted a date, but not so soon. Your mind reeled. A voice whispered at the back of your mind; it was probably best just to agree. It always was.  
  
“Pir- what?” you questioned. You hadn’t heard of that before.  
  
“It is a Russian dish. I think you will be liking it. The whole restaurant is Russian, so if you do not like the Pirozhki, you can try something else!” you took a breath.  
  
“Then… I guess it’s a date? What time should I be ready?” You couldn’t believe you were going through with this. Just this morning, you would have done anything to get away from him. Now you were making dinner plans. You still wanted out of this house and away from this man, but for now, you could act like you were fine with all of this. It’s not like it was new. Pretending was just part of your life at this point.  
  
All you had to do was remember: You weren’t fine with any of this.  
  
“We will leave at 6, be ready and wear something purple,” Purple? Shouldn’t be too hard, half of the dresses “given” to you were purple or a shade of it.  
  
“I… I can do that,” you smiled as you stood up, more than prepared to leave.  
  
“Where are you going?” he frowned. He hadn’t given you permission to leave. No one leaves without his permission.  
  
“To take a nap and process everything you’ve told me. It’s a lot to deal with.” and your headache wasn’t going away. “Right now, it’s what I need, okay?” you smiled lightly. He watched you as if expecting to catch you in a lie, you sighed. “I’m exhausted, Ivan. You literally just told me I have four appointments in two days, that we’re engaged- which, by the way, I expect a ring- and that my father was actually going to sell me off to GOD only knows who when I was a pre-teen. I think I deserve a quick cat nap.”  
  
“Alright, sweet dreams, (Y/n),” you sighed quietly in relief and retreated out of the room, hoping to run into Toris. You weren’t happy with him, but you were in desperate need of something for the splitting headache brewing in your head.  
  
You woke up a few hours later to an alarm blaring. Groaning you rolled over and turned it off. What happened? Oh yeah, Ivan, headache, nap.  
  
Good news: Your headache was gone.  
  
Bad news: Ivan wasn’t.  
  
You let out a deep sigh as you rolled off the bed. You had to get ready. With half-asleep limbs, you made your way to the closet and pulled out a purple dress that caught your attention. After you grabbed out more clean cloths you made your way to the bathroom. It was only a few doors down, but with how groggy you felt it was like the hallway was endless. Like you were on a slow-moving treadmill.  
  
Your shower went by, helping you wake up. You must have slept really hard to feel this way. Afterward, you threw on the dress you grabbed. It was a very simple dress, with no extra designs. It stopped above your knees, had a low neckline, and had 3⁄4th sleeves.  
  
Finding the hairdryer you quickly dried your hair, styling it compliments your face. This might not be an ideal situation, but you figured you could make the best out of a shitty situation. After a quick once over in the mirror you took a calming breath and left. Heading to Ivan’s office and into the gaping jaws of damnation.


	4. Chapter 4

You stared at the food in front of you. Ivan had ordered everything, speaking solely in Russian. As you sat to the side, quietly watching in confusion. From the sound of it, Ivan knew the waiter. Maybe they were friends? That would be a good thing, right?

"Dig in, podsolnukh," He sat, smiling at you, gauging your reaction. The hell did he just call you? Pod-something? Oh, whatever.

You looked at him then stared down at the rolls in front of you. Was this it? They looked like dinner rolls. Were you supposed to eat it with your hands or cut it in half? Curiously you glanced up at Ivan, hoping to see how he was eating it. Only to find he hadn't touched any of his. With hesitant hands, you picked up your knife and fork and cut into it. Steaming inside was a curious mixture of meat, cabbage, and spices. You cast another unsure look at Ivan then sat your silverware down, they would do nothing but cause a mess if you actually used them to eat. Slowly you picked up the roll and took a tentative bite. Instantly an explosion of flavours assaulted your taste buds. It really was essentially a "dinner roll". Your dinner was there, in your hands, wrapped in dough. You still weren't sure how you felt about it as you chewed slowly, processing the new food. You looked at Ivan, who watched you closely with wide child-like eyes.

"It's not bad..." you quietly decided, not wanting to offend the over-sized man.

You watched as his face went from curiously watching to excitement as he picked up his own, taking a much larger bite. He chewed happily as you relaxed a little, now not under his intense gaze.

Silence engulfed you two, as you ate your meal. For Ivan, it felt comfortable. He finally was having dinner, alone, with you. You were finally in his grasp, he couldn't be happier.

You on the other hand? You felt like the weight of the world was threatening to crush you. The silence was deafening, Ivan's unnatural unblinking gaze as you started on your second bun, made you shiver. 'This was a bad idea.' You told yourself. Truth be told, you were more than ready to leave. You were out of place, out of your element, and already out of energy.

"So, (Y/n), tell me what you do?" Ivan asked, snapping you out of your daze. "What you did before, I mean." did he mean what kind of jobs you had? Didn't he already know that answer?

"I was a waitress at a small restaurant and a housekeeper at a hotel." You mumbled, thinking about those jobs. "Will I still be able to go to work?" you hadn't thought about that before.

"Why would you want to? You already can have whatever you want, just ask me." Why? Well, first it was a good way to get out of the house. Second, you wanted to be at least a little independent. Third... You were already going stir crazy. You were probably allowed to leave your room, but the oversized home intimidated you.

"Because I like to work.." You've worked most of your life. Of course, just giving that up would be hard.

"Then we can find something around the house for you to do." That was the opposite of what you wanted.

"My coworkers are probably wondering what happened to me. They're probably worried."

"It's so cute how you care about others." He smiled, placing his elbow on the table and leaning on his fist.

"You're avoiding the issue." pouting slightly.

"Sunflower, you do not need a job because you do not need money. If you want work to do, I'm sure you could do something like sweep around the house. Isn't that what wives do anyway?" The grip on your roll tightened, causing the contents to spill out and onto the plate. You let out a small startled noise as you picked up your fork and tried to shovel it back in, your face flushed in embarrassment and a bit of fear. What if he got mad because you made a mess? What if he realizes why you squeezed it so hard.

"Sunflower you should be more careful." Your head snapped up like a deer in headlights, eyes wide as saucers. "What if that had fallen on you? It would have hurt." Your mouth opened slightly, shocked.

"I-I'm sorry... I guess I wasn't paying attention to my grip." you apologized. Why didn't he yell? Or chastise? The way everyone acted with him, it was like he could go off at any second. Everyone was so afraid, yet he's so...

"(Y/n)? Are you okay?" jumped slightly.

"Sorry, sorry. I'm fine. I think I'm full, though." Ivan stared at you, eyes worried. "I'm fine, Ivan, really," you reassured him.

"If you are sure. Do you have enough room for dessert? I think you will be liking the medovik, it is a honey cake. Very sweet, like you!" Did he just...? He did. Smooth...

"I--" You looked at him, seeing the excitement in his eyes. He almost looked like a puppy. "I think I can find the room."

Ivan smiled widely as he waved the server over, ordering the desert. Ivan was so excited to share his culture with you. He wanted to teach you everything; Customs, traditions, history, landmarks, the language, everything! Watching you you enjoy the food made his heart feel warm. He couldn't help but be excited.

"I think you will like it." He said once more, turning his grin to you.

"I don't doubt it." You smiled awkwardly.

"Now, what else can I ask you? Oh! Favorite colour?"

"(F/c)," you answered shortly. "Now my turn. What your favorite memory?" Ivan stared at you, thinking.

"It was before your mother left. You were ten, and there was a Christmas festival. As a sign of good faith my grandfather waived your father's monthly payment. So all three of you went to the festival. Your mother had insisted on getting you a new dress, It was gold with red sparkles. The look of pure joy on your face..." You stared at him "I want to see that look on your face again." A light blush dusted your cheeks.

"I said favorite memory. Not favorite memory of me." It was pretty creepy he had been watching you for so long.

"That is my favorite memory. That was when I realized you were everything good in this world. A good person, a good daughter, a good friend. That was when I realized I wanted you by my side. Originally," He leaned back, eyes sparkling as he remembered simpler days. "I just wanted you as a friend. Someone I could protect, someone I could confide in, tell all my secrets to. Then as we grew up, you got bigger, smarter, kinder, and so beautiful. I would send people to watch and check up on your father, and every so often I'd have them check up on you. I remember once when you were 15 you got really sick." Yeah, you remembered that. You were bedridden for over two weeks with a fever, vomiting, migraines, and hallucinations. "When I was told about how your father was going to let you "Ride it out or die" I had my men take you to the hospital. Your father screamed and protested, even after I told him it wouldn't be added to his debt." You vaguely remembered that. You remembered the hospital. You remembered your father sitting with you. Your head was starting to ache again. Why did every interaction with this man bring about a headache? "Despite you being there for a week the nurses said he only visited you once."

"That's a lie!" you snapped, raising your voice, causing him to raise an eyebrow. You coughed."What I meant to say is: They must have lied to you. I remember my dad sitting in the corner of the room almost every time I woke up." Ivan tilted his head.

"He was never there when I came to visit, and I would stay for hours." You stared at him, reaching into the depths of your memory. NO, that was your dad. He would always stay for hours... right?

No, that wasn't right. The build wasn't the same, neither was the voice that would talk to you, it was laced with a thick Russian accent.

"It was You... You were the one who..." you looked down, mind racing.

"I was there to make sure you weren't alone, and to make sure they took good care of you."

You groaned, putting your forehead in your hand and leaning on the table. For years you had thought that figure was your father. You didn't know if you should feel flattered he cared so much or creeped out.

"Thank you... for watching over me..." You settled for that. He deserved it, that was some serious dedication. He smiled at you. Always smiling. At that moment the waiter brought the cakes over. You stared down at your plate, the stone in your stomach filling whatever room was once there. You picked up the fork and took a small bite, eyes lighting up. It was an artful mixture of sweet and flakey, light but moist. You had never had anything so damn good. Your appetite suddenly came back as you ate the desert. Ivan watched you. Thinking back to the old days had actually put him in a slightly bad mood.

That man... that thing you called your father. He didn't deserve your loyalty. YOu were willing to give yourself up for him, yet he didn't really care. He never did. Ivan was surprised at your loyalty, despite everything. He was curious and jealous. He'd have to ask Katysha why. Afterward, he wanted to find out how to gain that loyalty.

After dinner, Ivan got up and offered you his hand. You stared at it for a moment.

"Don't we have to pay the bill?" you questioned.

"You do not need to pay when you own the place, yes?" Your eyes bulged out. No wonder he was so comfortable. "Now, let us be off." You took a deep breath and accepted his hand, getting up.

As the two of you walked out you expected the car to be there, along with the large driver. Instead, a horse-drawn carriage was waiting for you. You stared in shock.

"I thought a ride would be nice," he looked at you. Well, he wasn't wrong, a night time ride would be very nice, a relaxing end to the evening.

He helped you into the carriage, making sure you were settled in and comfortable before he sat down.

Off you went, on a nice ride through town. The cool air breeze felt nice against your face. After a few minutes of riding, you saw your destination: the park just outside of the town. You remembered it from when you were growing up. You'd walk here at least once a week, it was a great place to go if you wanted quiet and to be left alone.

"I know this place," you breathed out, "there should be a pond a bit up this pathway," Ivan smirked lightly to himself. He knew you liked this place. He couldn't even count how many times you ran away here. "Then a few yards past the pond, there should be an opening that branches into a few trails. I use to love walking those trails when I was younger." Ivan wasn't exactly planning on walking the trail.

As the carriage neared the pond it slowed to a stop.

"Would you like to get out?" He asked before sliding off his seat and off the carriage, offering you help down.

"That would be really nice," you said, getting up and going to grab his hand. Instead, he surprised you by wrapping his hands around your waist and picking you up, setting you on the ground. You blushed widely.

'God, he's strong.'

'She's very light.' you two thought at the same time.

"A warning next time, please?" It was a sweet gesture, but it was terrifying. He could have dropped you. He could have squeezed too hard and squished you. Hell, he could have easily just thrown you. But he didn't, he was surprisingly gentle.

"I'll remember that," He smiled and wrapped an arm around your shoulders. You ducked under it.

"Why don't we just stick to holding hands?" You questioned, grabbing his hand. "Just for now, okay?" Ivan looked at you, an eyebrow raised. He figured he could settle for that as the two of you walked, making your way slowly around the small pond. You soaked in the scenery, it was a beautiful night. The moon shone above, unobscured by any clouds. The only thing missing was the millions of stars that would be reflecting on the pond, if it were not for the light pollution. Despite the lack of stars the picture reflecting on the pond was so beautiful, it almost took your breath away.

"Ivan, thank you for tonight. This was really nice." You smiled as you looked around, stopping. "Look! A rabbit!" Your smile grew larger as you let go of his hand, taking off after the much smaller, much faster animal.

Ivan followed after, chuckling. That was what he wanted to see. The look of pure joy that adorned your face as you laughed, chasing it like a child. You laughed and stopped as it disappeared into a bush. "Did you see it!? It was so cute!"

"I wouldn't move if I were you." Both of you slowly turned to the source of the voice. A scraggly looking man stood five feet away at the mouth of the forested area, a gun in hand pointed straight at you. "Now, big guy, If you don't want your girlfriend's blood everywhere, I'd suggest giving me all your money." You stared wide-eyed at the man as Ivan glared, reaching into his back pocket. Was he really about to hand his money over to this guy? You watched Ivan as your legs began to shake. What if he was trigger happy? What if he shot you anyway? What if he didn't shoot to kill and only severely wound you? Your mind began to get away from you when you heard the man laugh.

"You might want to hurry. Your girlfriend looks terrified, she might even faint." He laughed cruelly.

Ivan growled, pulling out a Glock from his pants, and pointing it at the man.

"I think it is you who should be scared." The man stared at Ivan like a baby deer. "I think you should be dropping that weapon." He hissed out. The man turned as white as snow. "What are you waiting for? Me to shoot?" The man slowly bent over, gently placing the gun on the ground.

"Woh there, pal? No need to get violent... It wasn't even loaded."

"Matryoshka, get over here." you obeyed and scurried over to him. Ivan wrapped his free arm around you back, pulling you tightly to his chest. "You do not need to be seeing this." Seeing what? You tried to move away, see anything but his chest, but he was just so strong. Even using just one arm.

You stop when you heard a very loud BANG. You froze as your ears began to ring. Your arms fell from his chest as you stood there numbly. Did he just...? You tried to keep your breathing steady as you felt Ivan shift. It sounded like he was talking to someone. You had to check, you had to be sure... You bit your lip as you slowly moved your head to the side, just far enough to see.

The man laid there, motionless in a pool of blood.

You couldn't help but faint at the sight.

You awoke an hour later on a bed. This wasn't your bed. Either of them.

'What happened?' you thought, looking around. It looked like some sort of medical room.

"Thank goodness you are awake!" an unfamiliarly deep voice piped up. You looked over. The man had sandy blond hair, with pretty green eyes hiding behind a pair of rectangle glasses... and a prominent black eye. You could also see an arm sling.

"What the hell happened to you?" You couldn't help your curiosity. "You look like you should be the one in this bed."

"Nothing. I'm fine. What matters is how you're feeling." He dodged your question.

"I feel fine." You lied. Truthfully you felt like you could empty your stomach. The image of that man kept flashing in your mind. You stood up, slowly, to make sure you weren't dizzy. "Now, I'd highly like to go back to my room." and lock yourself away. "But first, I'd like to know what the hell happened to you. YOu were our driver tonight, right? You weren't all beat up like this before." He eyed you. You were more observant than he thought. "And don't you dare try to tell me you fell." He sighed, there does that lie.

"Mr. Braginski was not too happy after you fainted." That wasn't this guy's fault. "I was supposed to make sure the park was empty when you went on the ride... but I didn't see that man." You stared in disbelief.

"So, that's from him?" He nodded, causing a sigh to escape your lips. "Could you tell me how to get back to my room?" He shook his head.

"Mr. Braginski wanted me to take you to his room when you woke up."

"You can tell "Mr. Braginski" he can suck my dick after what happened!" the man paled at the thought of the punishment he'd receive if he didn't deliver you. Right, these guys were terrified of Ivan. After tonight you were too. You didn't want to see him, but if it helped this guy avoid another beating... You took a deep breath. "Fine. Fine. Take me to him."

Might as well get this over with.

A few minutes later you were dropped off in front of a dark ebony door, after the man, Eduard, scurried away. You stared at the door, the dark of the wood matching the man hiding behind it. You knocked.

"What?!" snapped the Russian inside, causing you to pause. Maybe you could still run back to your room. "I said, "What!?" The door separating the two of you swung open, causing you to take a step back in fear. You refused to look up at him, but you could feel him relax when he saw you. "(F/n) you are ok! I was so worried!" You moved to the side, dodging the incoming hug from him. He stared at you, "ARE you okay?"

"I'm fine," you mumbled.

"You're not hurt?"

"I'm fine." Again. Ivan frowned.

"Sunflower, what's wrong?" he questioned, tilting his head.

You stayed silent, debating on voicing your fear. The silence hung in the air, suffocating you both. Ivan was worried you were hurt. You were scared he would be the one to hurt you.

"Why did you shoot him?" you were so quiet, Ivan almost didn't hear you. "He gave up... set his gun down... It wasn't even loaded." It went beyond self-defense after that.

"That was where he lied! It was loaded he would have hurt you." Ivan tried to excuse himself.

"We didn't know that." you whimpered, wrapping one of your arms around your waist, picturing the man again.

"He was going to hurt you," Ivan stepped closer, causing you to take two steps back. "(Y/n)!" He snapped, making you cower under his overly intense gaze. The sight of your smaller form cowering, terrified of him caused him to pause to take a deep breath. "(Y/n), please..." You looked at him, eyes full of your fear for him.

"I'm going to bed..." you cast a very quick glance at him then looking around. "Good night, Mr. Braginski." you quickly dismissed yourself from the situation before you quickly retreated down the hall and back to your room.


End file.
